Many Meetings
by MagickAlianne
Summary: Eleven year old Hermione Granger meets a strangely dressed greasy haired rude man while on a family vacation in Rome. How will they both react when they become nextdoorneighbors? Follows Hermione through all 7 years at Hogwarts! Friendship, Humor, Drama,
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This idea hit me like WHAM! So, here I am, posting it for all you wonderful SS/HG fans! I absolutely LOVE this pairing, but, as you will soon see, it will… take a while for them to get together. I mean, come on, it's following Hermione all through her years at Hogwarts! It's not like they're going to start snogging in her 2nd year! Or is it…HA, no—eww…**

**Please review after reading this, I LOVE FEEDBACK!**

**Oh, and thank my wonderful beta, Chris! Without her, I would be in a mess of…. USAGE MISTAKES!**

**--Alianne**

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Chapter One: Meeting the First

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Hermione Jane Granger, a mere slip of a girl at age eleven, held onto her parents' hands tightly as they walked down the cobbled streets through the hundreds of tourists. The Vatican rose up above the other buildings of Rome, and the people milled about St. Peter's Square, taking pictures and ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the sights and sounds of the Eternal City. Her bushy brown hair was hanging wildly down her back, almost an exact replica of her mother, whose slightly less bushy hair was tied into a braid.

Rupert Edward Granger was a tall man, no shorter than 6'2, with sandy blonde hair and a ruddy complexion, and a mustache that would tickle Hermione's cheeks when he kissed her affectionately and twirled her around in the air. Wendy Elmira Granger, a lean, willowy woman with bright brown eyes and a pretty face, loved books as much as her daughter did.

Wendy and Rupert Granger were dentists, and very proud of their daughter, who always flossed and brushed her teeth two times a day and wore her retainer every night like a good girl.

The eleven year old looked around and saw other children her age not holding their parent's hands, but instead of letting go of _her_ parents, she held onto them even tighter, just to show them that she cared more about hers. She rotated her shoulders to get her backpack into a more comfortable position, and then felt air where her backpack was. Her head whipped around, almost giving her whiplash, and saw a boy quite a bit older than she racing away into the crowd, struggling with her heavy bag as he tried to get away. Hermione looked up at her parents quickly and saw that they were busy observing one of the street artists painting the marketplace. The girl huffed and slipped out of her parents' hold and took off after the boy thief.

She made her way through what seemed liked millions of sunburned tourists, and was roughly pushed aside by a man who was wearing the oddest outfit she had ever seen.

Was that a _cape_? It was!

All she could see was his rigid back and shoulder-length limp black hair. The cape billowed behind him and it reminded her of a bat, or some dark creature from a nightmare.

Then she realized that the boy was retreating out of her sight, and that the man was in her way!

Hermione sprinted towards the boy, and barreled right past the rude man, shoving him to the side like he did to her, or at least tried to, not slowing until she was mere yards away from the ruffian who stole her backpack. She didn't notice the death glare the dark-clad man was giving her as she yelled after the boy.

"Give me back my backpack, stupid head!" she called out.

The boy turned around, his dark brown hair flying into his face as he did so, and he had to blow it out of his eyes so he could see the tiny mass of bushy hair before him. He looked confused, and the girl realized that the boy didn't understand English. She huffed and walked towards the boy slowly, holding out her hand to him.

The boy turned tail and fled, and the eleven year old groaned loudly and chased after him. She shouldn't have expected that he would actually give it back!

The man in black watched the girl with a sneer of disgust on his face. "Muggles," he muttered, and resumed his swift pace, which happened to be in the direction of the two dunderheads.

**X X X X X**

The brown-haired thief had seen the small bushy-haired girl with the large backpack with her preoccupied parents in St. Peter's Square, and even though it was in a holy place, he couldn't resist. That bag must have been full of stuff he could pawn off, and his mind was made up; the boys would be getting a decent meal again tonight! He saw the girl adjust her backpack and made his move. Lorenzo snatched the girl's backpack and ran off, but was unprepared for its weight. It must have been filled with stones or something! He hefted it over his shoulder and pushed his way through the crowd, intent on getting to the Thief Lord's hideout before the girl realized her bag was missing.

He barely avoided running into a man clad in black who was emerging from a wall, but paid no attention to the man's sudden appearance, as he was already running for all his worth, and couldn't pay any heed to the mysterious man with the billowing black cloak and glaring eyes.

He would have just ended up running away from him, too. Then he heard a shout in some other language, and he turned around in confusion and saw the girl with the bushy brown hair. She stepped towards him slowly with her hand outstretched after giving a sound of annoyance. He knew that she wanted her bag back he wasn't stupid. He had lived in Rome all his fifteen years, never had someone been able to catch him, and by God he wasn't going to let that happen now!

The Muggle boy ran away from the girl, but then something strange and remarkable happened, stopping the thief in his tracks. He turned around when he felt the bag tug him back towards the girl who had her hand outstretched again, but she was at least thirty meters away from him this time.

"Give it back!" she called again. Lorenzo grabbed the bag tighter and tried to run away again, but found he was rooted to the spot, and the bag was yanking his arm in its haste to get back to its owner.

The man with the billowing cloak came to a halt when he saw the scene before him- the same bushy haired girl and the Italian Muggle thief boy were now in the middle of a narrow bystreet, and some other Muggles had stopped to watch the two children.

"Give it back!" the girl cried, her hand outstretched. Severus Snape's dark black eyes traveled to the struggling backpack and realized with a start that the girl was a witch, whether she knew it or not, he didn't know.

With one last forceful tug, the backpack freed itself from the thief's grasp and flew over to the young witch, knocking her down to the cobbled street with a soft _oof_!

The Muggles in the vicinity all gasped, and the dark wizard whipped out his wand and bellowed, "_Obliviate!_" A bright white light flashed and encompassed the crowd and the thief, and when it disappeared, it left dazed faces in its wake.

The Head of Slytherin stepped towards the young girl, who was dusting herself off from her fall. She finally looked up at him and realization dawned on her.

"Hey, you're that rude man from before!" she cried. The 'rude man' looked affronted, but since she was the ever-wise age of eleven, she kept on. "It was very impolite; sir, to just shove me aside like that and not even say 'excuse me'! People will think you don't have any good manners if you keep doing that!"

Her face was so set and indignant that the evil Potions Master had to bite back a smirk. One dark finely arched eyebrow quirked oh so slightly during her little speech.

"Do you realize that performing magic in front of Muggles is a bad idea, hmm? Or in your infinite wisdom did you think they would not be able to see?" he asked her, the arched brow ever mocking the girl.

Hermione frowned instantly, "Magic? What the heck are Muggles, or whatever you said? I couldn't have performed magic—it's not real! That boy threw my bag at me! That wasn't magic, was it? You're very odd, sir. Are you feeling alright?"

She saw the look on his face and quickly mended her words. "Of course it was magic, why wouldn't it be? Hehe…umm…I have to get back to my parents…so, bye!"

The bushy haired eleven year old shouldered her heavy yellow backpack and started jogging away, until a thought hit her like a brick and she turned around and trotted back to the caustic Potions Master.

"Ohh…how do you get your cloak to billow like that? Oh yes, magic again, I almost forgot! What's your name? Why do you wear those weird clothes?" she asked, all in succession, her curiosity getting the better of her. The tall, greasy-haired man rolled his eyes and glared at the girl, hoping she would just get the message and _leave_.

Severus Snape took a long look at the girl who was staring intently at him and sighed.

"You'll be getting your letter any day now, blasted Gryffindor…" and he strode off into the crowd. Hermione stood for a moment and mulled everything over before rushing after him.

"What do you mean, 'my letter', and what's a Gryffindor?" she asked, having to jog in order to keep up with his long strides.

The Head of Slytherin glanced down at the girl and gave off an air of long-suffering before coming to what appeared to be a perfectly normal brick wall near the bridge where Hermione's parents were enjoying the sights and sounds of Rome.

Hermione frowned again in confusion. "A brick wall?"

Snape rolled his eyes and elegantly took out a long, thin piece of black wood and waved it intricately, muttering something underneath his breath. When he was done with the incantation, the bricks started to shift into an arched doorway, causing the eleven year-old's frown to turn into an expression of wonderment.

The grumpy thirty-one year old Potions professor nodded curtly at the girl before disappearing through the magical portal, leaving a thoroughly perplexed and intrigued Hermione Granger staring at the now un-magical brick wall.

"'Mione, what are you doing, dear? Let's go back to the hotel for lunch, hmm?" her mother put a hand on her shoulder and steered the girl away to where her father was conversing with one of the street artists.

"Hermione, pumpkin, this is my good old friend Rosmerta! We went to primary school together, and now look at us! Unbelievable! 'Mia, dear, come here and introduce yourself!" he said jovially. The bushy haired eleven year-old looked at the woman her father had known since he was a little boy, and immediately liked her.

Madam Rosmerta was a vibrant woman with a Gypsy-like air about her, with long, dark, beautifully curled hair and dark eyes. Her figure was curvaceous in all the right places, and her style of clothing was almost as strange as the rude man Hermione had met not ten minutes before. However, Rosmerta did not wear the odd robe or cape—splashes of bright colors covered her blouse, and she wore a bright red skirt with beautiful embroidery along the bottom. Hermione looked down at the woman's shoes and saw that they were high-heeled bright turquoise ones! She looked everything like a wandering Romany heathen to Hermione, and the girl couldn't get enough of the woman. She was so…different from everyone else she had known! Back in England, she never would have met this woman in her whole entire life!

Hermione stuck out her hand and Rosmerta clasped the girl's hand warmly.

"Such a beautiful young lady you have, Rupert!" Rosmerta crowed happily. Hermione blushed and heard herself giggle in embarrassment and slipped her hand from the intriguing woman shyly.

Wendy Granger clapped her hands decidedly and smiled at her husband and Rosmerta. "Let's go to lunch, shall we?" The two women instantly fell into step together and began chatting about everything they had missed. Wendy and Rosmerta had also gone to the same primary school along with Rupert, and the three had been the best of friends before Rosmerta went to a boarding school when she turned eleven. They had heard from her very little after that, except for summer breaks, and Rupert and Wendy had grown closer ever since then, leading to their marriage and then their daughter Hermione.

Said daughter trailed behind her parents and Rosmerta, deep in thought.

_Is there really magic?_

**X XX X X**

**WAHOO! Yessss! I love these little plot devices! They make the story sooo much more interesting!**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHATCHA THINK! THANK _ERIANNA ABYSS_, my wonderful, marvelous beta! Oh, and go check out my Phantom of the Opera story "Who Wants to Live Forever"!**

**Shameless advertising! Dontcha love it? Lol!**

**-Alianne**


	2. Chapter2: Meeting the Secondand a half

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**Chapter Two: Meeting the Second (and a half)**

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Lunch was a grand affair in a quaint café located in a narrow bystreet close to the spot where Hermione had performed her feat of 'magic' earlier that morning. Her father and mother were overjoyed that their childhood friend was back in their lives, and so was a certain bushy-haired eleven year-old. Hermione found herself ignoring her spaghetti in favor of staring at the vibrant gypsy woman sitting across the table from her. Wendy and Rosmerta sat beside each other while Hermione and her father were together on opposite ends of the booth, but they didn't really notice, as they were so deep in conversation and laughing at past escapades during their school days.

If this had been any other meal, Hermione's nose would have been buried in a book while her parents discussed the architecture of Rome and read parts of _Dentistry Today_.

But this was not just any other meal.

Rosmerta turned away while Rupert was prattling on about his decision of going into dentistry and looked at Hermione and grinned. Hermione blushed when she realized that she was caught and guiltily grinned back. Rosmerta turned back her to her long-time friends and steered the conversation away from pulling teeth to the subject of a one young bushy haired eleven year-old.

"Rupert, dear, you have such a lovely daughter! Hermione is such a pretty name; however did you think of it?" she asked, winking at the said daughter with the 'pretty name.'

Rupert Granger looked a little lost at the abrupt change of conversation but quickly recovered. "Oh, Hermione? Well, Wendy thought of it, didn't you, dear?"

Wendy smiled. "Yes, I did. It was from Shakespeare, I believe. I've always liked names like hers since I was a child, so I thought if I couldn't have a beautiful name, my daughter would!" The adults laughed and Hermione giggled in embarrassment, her face turning as red as the tomato sauce smeared all over her pasta. Unfortunately, Rosmerta didn't want to let the subject go, much to Hermione's surprise and embarrassment. The gypsy-like woman laughed again.

"Well, I wouldn't really know much about that Shakespeare, anyway, eh? So, Hermione, your parents say you are an avid reader. Do you honestly like to read books all the time?" Rosmerta sounded a great deal disconcerted about Hermione's love of books. The woman's vibrant nature came out in everything she did, her facial expressions open and was always very at-ease with everything…except when the word _books_ was mentioned.

Hermione gaped at her parents' friend in shock. "Why of _course_ I love to read!" she exclaimed, thoroughly appalled at the woman's apparent dislike of literature.

Rosmerta laughed again at the peeved expression on the young girl's face. "I just wanted to _know_ if you did, Hermione! Just because I don't like to read much doesn't mean that you can't! Wendy, it's uncanny that she takes after you, with your hair and your love of _books_!" The dark haired woman made a face as she uttered the word and everybody genuinely laughed, even Hermione.

The rest of the day passed very quickly for Hermione, and all too soon the sun started to set. It was to be the Grangers last night in Rome, and Wendy and Rupert pleaded with their childhood friend to watch their daughter while they went out to dinner together. Rosmerta had heartily agreed, and so she and Hermione watched the dentists walk down the cobbled streets hand in hand until they were out of sight.

Rosmerta turned to Hermione and sighed. "_Finally!_ I thought they'd never leave! Now, shall we get upstairs and get to the ping-pong table before some Muggle gets it?" The older woman had a silly grin on her face, but when she saw Hermione's frown it faltered a little bit. "'Mione, what's wrong? Do you not like ping-pong? It's such a delightful little ga—"

But she was cut off by the eleven year-old. "What's a Muggle?" Hermione asked, her frown becoming ever more apparent. "That's what that rude man with the strange clothes said today! He called everyone around us 'Muggles', I think! And now you've said it, too! What does it mean? And please tell me the truth! I need to know. Preferably now, if you please?" the bushy-haired eleven year-old implored, her large brown eyes flecked with gold in the lamplight outside of the hotel. The young girl was wearing a lavender colored corduroy dress with a white turtleneck and plain white tights with brown Mary Jane's---the very epitome of innocence.

Rosmerta's face had fallen when she heard the younger girl speak, but then regained her bright disposition. "Muggle? Oh, just an insult, you know, like stupid, or git. Guess whatever man you spoke to liked using it, eh? Now let's go play some ping-pong!" And with that, the older woman grabbed Hermione's hand and they both ran up numerous flights of stairs to the game room on the 8th floor where the Grangers' rooms were.

The girls played ping-pong and air hockey until late, but Hermione wasn't tired, even at 9:30, which was already past her normal bedtime. Rosmerta decided to go back to the hotel room, and Hermione told her that she would be back before 11:00. The girl wandered around the landing until she came to the reading room door. She almost forgot all about the man in the billowing black robes and the awkward moment on the street with Rosmerta until she stepped quietly into the library. All that week Hermione would spend as much time as she could in the reading room—that was enough time to finish almost all the books the hotel had to offer. Most were tourist guides, but others were books on Italian architecture and sculpture and philosophy, which interested the eleven year-old greatly. Hermione had already read the tourist guide books and the standard classics, and most of the history books, but she wanted to read so many more before she left the next afternoon!

The room was very dark when she entered the reading room, except for the fireplace, which was lit. The girl stepped closer to it, but found that no warmth was emanating from it when she put her hands out to warm them in the cold room. She frowned and touched it and found that it was electric, just a decoration that gave off no heat. She sighed in relief and walked back to the door and fumbled blindly around for the light switch. She flipped it and the whole room was illuminated, revealing two armchairs by the electric fire and numerous waist high shelves and a couple couches and tables. She went to one of the shelves and picked up a book that she had never seen before in the reading room. Hermione gasped and dropped the book.

This one had _moving_ pictures on the cover!

Hermione got over her shock and picked up the book cautiously, unaware that the former occupant of one of the armchairs was standing right behind her. The eleven year-old peered at the cover, taking in the title and the strangely clad men and women on the cover who were… Hermione promptly dropped the book again.

She could have sworn that the people in the pictures were actually _waving_ at her! She picked up the book once more and turned around to sit in one of the vacant armchairs, but ran into something soft and black, and stumbled backwards.

Hermione looked up and saw a familiar sneer and she jumped back up again, her face even redder than at lunch earlier that day. She tucked the strands of hair that were escaping from their long, thick braid behind her ears and her eyes widened. "It's you!" she breathed. The very thin and grumpy man was not clothed in the strange outfit from that morning---he was wearing normal clothes, but they were still all black, except for a white dress shirt underneath the black wool sweater vest. Hermione gaped at him. "Where did you come from? Why are you here?" she asked, gaining control of her voice again.

The man rolled his eyes. "I _assumed_ that this was a _public_ facility, silly little _Gryffindor_. I have every right to be in this room, like it or not." He put as much venom as he could into the word 'Gryffindor.'

The eleven year old put her hands on her hips and huffed. "That wasn't what I was asking you! Are you staying here at this hotel? Sheesh!" then she added in an undertone, "What a Muggle…"

Hermione could have sworn she heard a snort come from the rude man whose name she still hadn't learned yet. She knew he could hear her, so she didn't raise her voice. "You still haven't told me what a Gryffindor is, sir. Nor have you told me about the letter, or what 'Muggle' means, _or_ your name! It's quite frustrating, you know! You said it, and then Rosmerta said it too! And what about this 'magic' that you said I did this morning? Do you know anything about this book?" she asked all in succession, her curiosity getting the best of her once more, holding the book up.

The man's upper lip curled into another sneer. "Why, that is _mine_, you little dunderhead. Give it back to me, or suffer the consequences." His voice was full of the promising threat, just daring her to challenge him.

Of course, Hermione rose to the occasion bravely. "Dunderhead? What consequences? It's not like you could turn me into a _toad_ or something!" She laughed at the man's obvious lack of sanity and tried to step around him so she could get out of the room. The man stood still in front of her and pulled from his sleeve the thin ebony stick Hermione had seen earlier that day

He laughed, a fairly pleasant sound, deep and rich, when he saw the brown amphibian on the carpet before him. A fly flew around the toad's head, and toad-Hermione watched it hungrily before a long, pink tongue flicked out from its mouth and gobbled up the fly. He swished the wand again and a human Hermione stood in front of him, glaring menacingly at the still laughing Potions professor.

"That was _not_ funny!" she said through clenched teeth. Then her face changed abruptly from anger to wonder, then to horror and disgust. "You…you turned me into a _toad_! I just ate a _fly_! Bleh!" Hermione started wiping her hand on her tongue to get the insect taste out of her mouth. It was actually quite tasty, though…

The man finally stopped laughing, but she could still see the mirth in his eyes…now that she looked at them, she could see that they were the blackest of black, like tunnels she could get lost in forever…Then Hermione broke eye contact with him, and her head suddenly started to ache…

"I'm sure that fly was _delicious_, hmm?" he smirked, one finely arched eyebrow raised at the girl. Hermione blushed furiously and stomped out of the room with the strange book under one arm. She could still hear laughter coming from the room when she was halfway down the hall and opening her family's hotel room door.

She gasped when she saw Rosmerta waving a long stick and the clothes flying around the room and folding and packing themselves up into the suitcases on the beds, and held tighter onto the book so she wouldn't drop it again

"Rosmerta!" she cried. "What on _earth_ are you doing?"

The gypsy witch gasped in fright and whirled around, dropping the wooden stick, which caused the air-borne clothes to drop to the floor. "Hermione! I didn't think you'd be back yet!"

Hermione stared at the stick on the floor, and then looked back up at her parents' childhood friend with a suspicious eye. "How did you do that?" Then the girl looked at the cover of the strange book with the moving pictures. "And what's this? Can you explain this to me?"

Rosmerta blinked, owl-eyed when she saw the book in the eleven year-old's hands. "Why, it looks like a hologram to me, 'Mione. Oh, and this?" she gestured to the clothes that were haphazardly strewn about the room and folded neatly in the suitcases. "Just a bit of slight of hand, nothing big! Hehe…I'll just take _this_, and you hurry along to bed! You're parents will be coming back soon, and they won't like it if you're awake when they get back, hmm?"

The gypsy part-time street-artist sighed inwardly as the curious girl gave her another wary long stare before turning and walking into her room. When Hermione's door was closed, Rosmerta started to pick up the clothes hanging off of the bedposts and chairs. Rosmerta looked at the book Hermione had found and laughed.

"Blasted Gryffindor! Watch out Hogwarts, you've got your hands full with this one!"

The cover read:

**_Everyday Advanced and Dangerous Potions for the Everyday Advanced and Dangerous Potions Master_**

XXXXXXX

Hermione and her parents found themselves loaded with their baggage in line at the airport, with Rosmerta standing nearby. The flight attendant at the ticket counter was having some trouble with the man she was dealing with at the head of the line. She would keep bursting into tears every time the man spoke, which didn't seem to bother the man in the least.

It looked like he was actually having fun doing it…but Hermione couldn't see the man, as he was so far ahead in line.

The flight attendant wiped her tears and kept sniffling noisily the whole time her parents were at the counter showing her their tickets. Jamey, as her name tag said, smiled watery-eyed at Hermione when it was the eleven year-old's turn to show her the plane ticket.

"Sorry about that, it's only my first day here. Guess I got a little emotional, huh?" Jamey said, and Hermione could hear her American accent clearly. The young flight attendant didn't look any older than 19 at the most, and Hermione just smiled reassuringly at the woman before joining her parents and Rosmerta, who were all hugging each other in turn.

"It was so good to see you again, Rosie," Wendy said, wiping tears from her eyes. Rupert didn't say anything, but his eyes were over bright.

Rosmerta laughed. "I'm so glad that I saw you, all of you, too! It was wonderful meeting you, Hermione! Keep _reading_ your _books_!" When she said the two words pertaining to literature she made a face, and Rupert and Wendy laughed as their daughter turned red from indignation.

A voice came from the speakers announcing the boarding of the plane, and Wendy and Rupert shouldered their bags again and started walking towards the flight gate. Rosmerta called after Hermione, who then turned around to meet the adult gypsy witch.

"'Mione! Wait!" The eleven year-old walked back to Rosmerta quickly.

"Whatever is it, Rosmerta?" she asked, glancing back over her shoulder to see that her parents had already disappeared down the walkway.

Rosmerta hugged her two best friends' daughter fiercely. "I'll miss you, ya little Gryffindor," she whispered into the girl's honey brown frizz of hair. Hermione pulled away and scowled.

The gypsy witch laughed and hugged her again. "You'll find out soon enough, my dear 'Herms. Hey, you might even see me sooner than you think! Now run along! Don't want to miss your plane, eh?" Rosmerta nudged Hermione towards her parents, but the girl ran back into the older woman's arms.

"I'll miss you too, Rosmerta," she said, fighting back tears. She had come to like this woman so much in the past day, and now she was leaving her for who knows how long!

The dark-haired woman chuckled. "Oh, and one more thing—don't look into your carry-on bag until you get all situated on the plane, will you? There's something that you might enjoy in there."

The eleven year-old hugged her new friend again before adjusting her bag and running back to her parents. Rosmerta called after her, "AND 'MIONE! CALL ME ROSIE, OKAY!"

Hermione looked back at Rosmerta and nodded and raced back through the flight gate and onto the plane. She plopped down into her seat and saw her parents sitting across the aisle from her on the left.

She looked to her right and gasped. There sat the man who had turned her into a toad the night before in the reading room! She still couldn't get the fly taste out of her mouth, no matter how many times she brushed her teeth…

The man heard her gasp and looked shocked, then disgruntled. "You're that idiot girl from before!" he hissed.

Hermione glared at him and hissed back. "I am _not_ an idiot! You're the idiot! You turned me into a frog!" The man looked a bit surprised at the return insult, but didn't show any other outward reactions, but inside he was seething.

The girl felt someone tap on her shoulder so she turned her head and saw her mother looking at the man beside Hermione with interest, and some suspicion. "Who's this, Hermione? Do you know him?"

The rude man and Hermione looked at each other and said in unison, "We've met…unfortunately."

Wendy Granger's eyebrows rose into her hairline. "Oh? Now when did this happen?"

Hermione glared at the man next to her. "Yesterday," she muttered, not at all happy that she would have to sit by the man who had turned her into a toad the night before the whole way back to England.

"I see," her mother replied. "By the way, I'm Wendy Granger. This is my husband Rupert, and of course, my daughter, Hermione." Wendy Granger stuck out her hand, and the man shook it gracefully.

"Severus Snape, madam. It is a pleasure to meet you and your…_charming_ daughter," the man inclined his head regally at Wendy and his eyes narrowed at Hermione. Rupert was busy getting the headsets all ready so he and his wife could watch the in-flight movie. Wendy turned away to help her husband with the ear phones, leaving Snape and Hermione alone.

"Ah ha!" Hermione cried triumphantly. "So _that's_ your name!" The two glared at each other, and Severus kept glaring at the top of the girl's head while she was bending over and unzipping her backpack. She took out something quite large and shrieked happily.

The Potions Master peered over the eleven year-old's shoulder and saw the title of the book and bit back a groan:

The book that Hermione Jane Granger was happily flipping through was **_Everyday Advanced and Dangerous Potions for the Everyday Advanced and Dangerous Potions Master._**

This was going to be a _looong_ flight…

**XXXXXXXXX**

**:snicker:**

**I lurved that book title! It took me AGES to think of it, but then it popped into my head! So, yay! It sounds so wizard-y! **

**:sigh:**

**Oh, and I bet you're all wondering WHY Severus Snape, the evil bat of the dungeons was on a MUGGLE airplane, eh?**

**It shall be explained…all in due time! OMG, I'm astounded at the response I got to my first chapter! I was secretly hoping for that many, because with Phantom of the Opera stories, you don't get all that many reviews unless you are _Kat097_! She's the most awesome PotO phic author EVER! I'm still in awe when I read each chapter that she writes! But I'm not here for advertising. :cough: Hehe, remember last chapter, anyone:grin: ANYway, oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! ELEVEN! Nary a flame in sight, mateys! LOL! So, it's been about a week since I posted this, more or less. Sorry! I was AWAY at BAND CAMP for a whole WEEK! Well, they had regular Orchestra and Band camp, and then along with that PIANO CAMP as well! It was so much fun! I've come back with a different attitude about piano, and it was a really good experience for me, and I learned a lot about myself, too. Plus…cute guy pianists. That's all I'm going to say about them. Guys who play the piano are either really geeky or super handsome. There's not 'in-between'! It's not funny:sigh: Well, my AIM buddy list is a whole lot bigger now, LOL! We had to pick out a duet on Sunday night, then perform it on Friday afternoon---me and my duet partner were PERFECT on the second day. Like, PERFORMANCE READY PERFECTION! So that would be Tuesday, right? Yes, anywho…So, we didn't really need to work on it, just during the hour that we were given for duet practice. And then I did the Praeludiam of the Holberg Suite (which is mostly an orchestral piece, or for string instruments) for the Saturday recital. It was hardly under my fingers at all on Monday! So, yeah…then practiced a WHOLE lot, had lots of fun, and VOILA! Perfection! LOL! Sorry, I'm not bragging, I'm just really excited about that. **

**I hardly EVER play perfectly, until this week, so yeah…big deal for me. And it wasn't just the notes that were perfect---the _feel_ of the piece was really emotional, and it's a very dramatic part of the Suite, and everyone would come up to me and be like…"I honestly thought you were going to be as terrible as those girls before you! You sure proved us wrong!" Yeeeeeeeeah…my friends before me didn't do all that well…and they're all in high school like me…and I'm gonna be a sophomore…ANYWAY! ENOUGH OF MY EXCITED RAMBLING!**

**Natsuyori**: **MY VERY FIRST REVIEWER FOR THIS STORY! Lahve you so much! My work is 'lovely'! Yay! I was hoping that this would get good feedback! Of course, this chapter is ALSO dedicated to you, as you were the very first! **

**Pricey-Blonde: Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope ya like this one, too! Pretty long chappy this time, eh?**

**Caeria: You know, I am rather tired of stories that only have four paragraphs for the first chapter, too! Plus, I like to write long chapters. That's just me, though. I also hate it when people write in CHAT SPEAK in some stories! It's not even writing! But that's a different story. **

**And errr…hmm…**

**,00,: 'Cute au?' Wow. I like that. But my story's not 'cute', is it! Well if you say it is, then I must desist and say that it is as well. And you know what? I like the way our Snapey pegged Hermy for a Gryffie, too! LOL! I love these little nickname thingies! **

**Resurrected Angel: YAY! Thanks so much for reviewing!**

**VenomQueen-83: Loved the way you thought that Hermione was such a curious child! That's what I was going for! THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT! Oh yes, and the twist…hehehe…lots more of them to come:rubs hands together conspiratorially while cackling evilly: So many ideas! And thanks for taking the time to review!**

**Zoltaire: Your review was probably the most…hmm…what's the word…well, I got very giddy when I read it! I like some of the M-rated stories, but not some of the…:ahem: _too_ err…descriptive ones. LOL! I usually stick with T-rated ones, just to be on the safe side. Plus, I'm only almost 15! Well, anyway. I'm glad that my story thus far has provided you with some new insight towards lower rated fics! Not that you have to stop reading the M-ones of course, haha! And I don't know about the chapters-per-year thing. It all depends on where the characters and stupid plot take me! I can't wait to hear what you think of _this_ chappy!**

**Transylvanian: Thanks!**

**Countess Vladislaus Dragula: I SOOO LOVE YOUR FFnet NAME! It is so awesome! I like vampires a lot, but if you saw me, you would NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS ever even THINK that I do! I'm not snobby prep—I'm just a preppy red-headed pianist/flautist/cross country runner/JCREW shopper/swimmer/fanfic author! Hehe…THANK YOU SO MUCH, TOO!**

**Christine Erik: Oh yes…"WWTLF"…Well, I haven't gotten all that much inspiration on that lately…But I did write like six pages for Ch. 13 a couple weeks ago…anyway, THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! **

**OH, AND THANK MY BETA _EriannaAbyss_! Even though I didn't send her this chappy…;)**

**Sooo…that's it! Once again, thank you to everyone who has read this fic, whether you've reviewed it or not!**

**Erik: Review! NOW! **

**_P.T.O:_**

_**No one likes a debtor so it's better if my orders are obeyed!**_

**Adieu, mon bonne amies!**

**-Alianne**


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting the Third

**A/N: Hey looky here! Snapey! Then back to Hermione about halfway through. This is a little longer…and I think most chapters will be like this from now on…we'll just have to see!**

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**Chapter Three: Meeting the Third**

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The surly Potions Master had been finishing up his secret project to help protect the Sorcerer's Stone when Albus Dumbledore's head popped into his fireplace through the Floo network.

"Severus, old boy, you've been working on that puzzle for weeks now. I do hope it's almost done; it worries me to see you work so hard—why, you're all skin and bones! By the way, it's quite chilly down here in these dungeons---come up here and let's have a little chat where it's nice and warm, eh?" the white-bearded man said jovially.

Severus sighed. "I'm quite finished now, Albus. All it needs is to simmer for two and a half hours and then your little trifle will be done and out of my hair."

The Headmaster's face brightened. "Splendid!" he cried. "Now, come up to my office for a spot of tea, and I'll tell you some wonderful news!" his head disappeared with a _pop_, leaving Severus alone in the dungeon. The Potions Master's dark eyes flitted around his potions lab, trying to find an excuse not to be bombarded with those infernal lemon menaces up in the crazy old coot's office, but could find none and acquiesced.

"As you wish, Headmaster. I would be…_delighted _to," he drawled to the empty room. Severus checked the potions one more time before striding into the fireplace and into Dumbledore's office.

The younger wizard found the old man sitting behind his mahogany desk with that blasted twinkle in his bright blue eyes. Severus swallowed back a gulp of fear when the twinkle intensified as he sat down. He began counting the seconds before he was offered a sweet, hardly paying any attention to the man he most respected.

"Severus, my boy, you haven't taken a vacation in what? Nine, ten years? Well, I've been thinking…I seem to be doing that quite a lot, lately…Oh, I almost forgot, care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore held out a hand full of the brightly wrapped Muggle sweets.

Severus looked revolted at the sight of them and Albus laughed. "Severus, I assure you, they aren't poisoned! A Cheering Charm or two, but nothing serious! But I did not call you up here to discuss these delightful little confections---now…what did I call you up here for then…Ah yes. You haven't taken any days off or any sort of vacation in the past ten years, am I right?"

Severus nodded, confused and a bit more than a little suspicious of the old man's intentions. "Yes…but I fail to see why you have summoned me for this," he replied.

Albus' eyes twinkled even more merrily than before. "Well, Severus, I have decided that you are taking a vacation this summer! I have everything planned out, your plane tickets—"

"My _what_?" Severus yelped. "I am _not_ taking a vacation, Albus, this is absurd! I have lesson plans to devise, potions to brew, ingredients to restock, and detentions to plan! I am simply swamped, headmaster!"

"Nonsense!" Albus replied. "I know for a fact that you restock your potions ingredients at the end of every month—need I remind you it is only the second of June? As for your lesson plans, you do the same thing every year with all your students, I fail to see why you should change it now—now, the detentions, you have all the time in the world to think about those. I insist that you go to Rome for the week—a token, really, a trifle! You will thank me for it, some day, you know!"

The Potions Master was fuming. "Albus, I told you already. I. Am. Not. Going. I see no reason to, thus, I will not go," he replied with his teeth clenched.

Albus' eyes turned hard and steely. "You are going on vacation and that is _final_, Severus Alexander Snape," the old man's voice left no room for protest, and the younger wizard suddenly found himself dressed in Muggle clothes and a pair of suitcases lying beside his chair.

Severus glared balefully at Dumbledore, and was rewarded with a cheerful grin and a blue-eyed twinkle. He looked at the tickets and his eyes widened. "The International Potions Convention? But how did you—no, I'm not even going to ask how you got these…" His voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. "Fine, Albus. I will go—on one condition, however."

"And what is that, my dear boy?" Albus asked, with that twinkle still in his eyes.

Severus looked back up from the tickets and smirked. "Never attempt to send me away on a vacation ever again."

**XXXXXXXXX**

The plane ride was…interesting, to say the least. Night had fallen, and the only two people still awake on their portion of the plane were back to glaring at one another. Hermione's eyes started to water from lack of blinking, but she held fast. "You know, I quite like staring contests, Severus," she said. "But you seem very good at them too."

The Potions Master's eyes grew down to narrow slits, just barely open when he heard her call him by his given name. "Never call me Severus again, you little twerp," he hissed.

"I'm not the one who wears strange clothes all the time," Hermione retorted. However, today, he was dressed in all-black Muggle clothes again. Severus glared before looking down at the book lying open in the annoying twit's lap.

His eyes widened.

"You…you're already more than halfway through it?" he spluttered. It had taken him a week when he was her age! The tome was huge! Of course, family matters didn't allow him much time to read back then…

Hermione looked at the man as if to say DUH!

"Of course I'm more than halfway done! I _do_ like to read, you know. Plus, it's very interesting, but I know it's not real. It's quite confusing—none of these plants exist anywhere! But I do love reading the background of these potions," she replied, looking down fondly at the book.

Severus kept his mouth shut about that. She wasn't supposed to know anything about her being magic, since she was clueless that it actually existed. "Yes…it is quite interesting," he murmured, staring wistfully at his book.

The girl looked up at the man again and smiled. "Even though you may be strange, and rude, and turned me into a frog, you seem to like books a lot. So, maybe…maybe you're not all that bad!"

Severus stared at the girl in shock. _Not all that bad?_ He laughed; a harsh and biting sound that cut into Hermione's ears, not at all as pleasant as it was the night before. The eleven year-old glared at her future Potions professor.

"I fail to see what is so funny, again, Mr. Snape!" she said hotly, a little hurt that he would laugh at her after she paid him a compliment.

Snape stopped laughing when he saw her glaring at him. _Oops_… she had even called him by his proper title…"My dear, dear girl---not all who have a love of books are good people," he said seriously, the sarcasm not as sharp as before.

_Like me…_

Hermione stared up at him and her eyes softened. "I'll try to remember that, Mr. Snape," she said, nodding her head solemnly. She passed the book back to him, but he stopped her.

"We still have a long time before we land," Severus said, smirking. "Or would you rather argue with your opponent of superior intellect the whole way back to England?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione seemed to think on that for a second. "Well, I guess we can't argue, because we both know that I will win, so I must choose to read and spare you the embarrassment," she said, her eyes dancing happily, teasing him.

No one had teased Severus Snape for fifteen years! Jane had said the same thing…all those years ago. His eyes narrowed, even though he knew she was joking around. He grunted and turned away from the girl to look out at the night sky. He heard the eleven year-old Muggleborn sigh and flip through the pages of his book tenderly.

Some hours later Severus felt something on his left arm, and glanced at the girl beside him. She was asleep, resting her head in the crook of his elbow, the thick book lying on her pull-out tray. He tried pulling his arm away, but she merely sighed and snuggled closer. The man rolled his eyes and covered a yawn with his free hand, suddenly exhausted. He looked at the girl one more time before resting his head back on the head rest of his seat. He was asleep before a minute had passed.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The whole compartment was jolted awake by the shaking of the airplane. Everyone was looking around groggily, but Severus had his wand already pulled halfway out from his sleeve.

"Just a little turbulence, nothing to worry ab—abo---about," Rupert Granger yawned, stretching his arms high. Wendy was doing the same, fixing her blouse and smoothing the wrinkles from her skirt. "Just buckle your seatbelts, and you'll be fine. They'll tell us to do that anyway. Oh, and can you wake up 'Mione, Severus? I can't reach her from here."

Severus nodded and slid the ebony wand back into his sleeve, and decided to wake up the girl beside him. "Girl!" he whispered in her ear. She didn't answer, so he repeated himself a little louder. "You little idiot of a girl who reads far too much, wake up!"

Hermione's head snapped up, and came in contact with the wizard's prominent nose. He clutched his sore nose and glared at the girl.

She blinked up at him, massaging her head. "That _hurt_!" she said. Severus snorted, and then winced, rubbing his poor, injured nose.

"We're landing, dear," Wendy Granger said, reaching over and fixing her daughter's hair that had been mussed while she slept.

"Oh, okay then," Hermione sighed, submitting to her mother's attentions dutifully, sometimes wincing when Wendy's fingers snagged on a tangle as she re-braided her hair. Severus watched mother and daughter boredly for a moment, then looked out the window and saw the sun peeping over the horizon behind Heathrow Airport. After a tad bumpy landing, the Grangers and Severus stepped off of the plane, legs sore from sitting too long. They all walked outside together, Wendy and Rupert chatting, and Severus and Hermione silently bringing up the rear.

"Well, Severus, it was jolly great meeting you," Rupert said, sticking out a hand when they stopped outside the doors. Severus shook his and Wendy's hand, and nodded at them all before striding off. He felt someone tug on his sleeve and looked down and saw Hermione holding in her hands **_Everyday Advanced and Dangerous Potions for the Everyday Advanced and Dangerous Potions Master_**.

"Here, you forgot this, Mr. Snape," she said, and looked down embarrassedly. "I finished it last night…Sorry I took it from you; it was very interesting to read, though! I kind of couldn't help myself…" she grinned sheepishly. She pushed it into his hands and smiled up at him softly. "Well, it was…interesting meeting you; and maybe we'll see each other again sometime…umm…"

There was a long silence while they just stared at each other, the girl curiously and shyly, and the Potions Master appraising, calculating.

"Goodbye, you silly little Gryffindor," he murmured, his voice just as cold as it had been when they first met, and stalked off. He turned a corner and Hermione ran after him, wanting to reprimand him for his rudeness once more, but saw no sign of Mr. Snape anywhere, just regular people going about their business. Her brow furrowed, and she stood there for a moment before running back to her parents, who were getting their things hauled into their car so they could get to their new house in the small town of Amble, in Northumberland. Business in London was getting slower, what with more younger dentists setting up offices all over the city, so, Rupert and Wendy Granger decided to move as far away as they could from the capitol to somewhere more remote. Hermione didn't mind, she never really did have all that many friends that shared the same interests as she. Although…it was going to be a long drive to the northernmost county of England…too bad Mr. Snape wasn't there to argue with…

After almost six hours of looking out the window at the English countryside, they pulled into the drive of their new house on the outskirts of Amble. It was a fairly average two-story cottage, surrounded by two walls of Italian cypress trees, separating three houses. Hermione couldn't see the house to the right, but could see that the house to the left was just a regular cottage as well. The Grangers stepped inside their empty cottage and went to the back porch. They all gasped and ran to the edge of the un-fenced backyard.

"Never would have seen this in London, eh, Wendy?" Rupert said happily. He was right—the ocean was right behind their house, a series of steep stone steps leading down to the beach from the cottage's back yard. Rupert and Wendy hugged each other, then their daughter. Rupert kissed the top of Hermione's head and laughed again. "The moving van won't come until tomorrow, so do we want to go into town and see the new office?" he asked joyously.

Wendy and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged. "We don't mind, but I think Hermione would like to check out the library, wouldn't you dear?" Wendy asked her daughter. Hermione nodded happily and they all piled into their station wagon.

They arrived in Amble not three minutes later, and Rupert got out of the car first to help his wife and daughter out. They surveyed the town contentedly, knowing that they picked the right place to move to. It was fairly small, with numerous small, family-owned shops, lining the streets and a resort on the edge of town with a marina. There were tourists, of course, but not as many as there were back in London. The Grangers walked together down the street and stopped at an empty building nestled in-between the barbershop and the hardware store.

"Well, here it is!" Rupert spread his hands out at it. "This is where your mother and I are going to set up our new dental practice! Isn't it great?"

Wendy nodded happily, and then looked at her daughter. "Hermione, dear, we passed the library, it's only a few buildings down the way, you may go there if you'd like, just be back at the house by supper, all right?"

The eleven year-old nodded emphatically at her parents and ran down the street, slowing down only until she reached the double doors leading to the small library. She took a few moments to survey the mass of shelves, but was disappointed at the enormous gaps between books. They really needed more of them…Back in London, Hermione and her mother, and sometimes her father would take weekend trips to the British Museum of Natural History and spend whole days in the King's Library reading. But here…Hermione could probably read all the books in less than a month, maybe even a few weeks at the _most_.

She sighed and walked over to the shelves at the farthest end of the library—that's always where the good books were. All the books in the little library of the town of Amble were decades old, and out of print nowadays. She picked up an ancient version of Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and settled down on the floor. An hour later and almost finished with the book she had read more than just a few times before, Hermione rose and began purveying the other shelves to see if there was anything she _hadn't_ read before. All she saw were the basic travel books and the classics _again_—plus some English history books, year books from the nearby schools, works of 1950s fiction, and the standard biographies students would need to use for reports throughout the school year.

Hermione sighed again, picked a few random books off of the shelves and went to the front of the library where the checkout counter was located. An older woman with long, steely grey hair sat on a stool behind the counter, along with a mousey blonde-haired girl around Hermione's age. She was fiddling around with the scanner until her grandmother snatched it away from her, scolding the girl as she swiped the binding of the books Hermione had picked out.

"Meg, I thought I told you not to touch the scanner! It's not a toy! Now scoot! I told you that you could only come back here if you _behaved_! Go! I have a customer!" the girl's grandmother said crossly. The blonde-haired girl rolled her eyes and hopped over the counter, not opting to use the half-door by the register. The grandmother huffed and went back to swiping the books.

"Sorry about my grand-daughter, Meg. She's such a wild little thing; it's hard to keep track of her sometimes. By the way, I'm Madeleine. Madeleine Giry," the woman with the long silver hair said with a slight French accent, smiling at Hermione.

Hermione smiled back. "I'm Hermione Granger; it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Giry," she said. "We actually just got here today. My parents are setting up their new dentistry office a few buildings down."

"That's nice, Hermione. Ever since Karl moved to Birmingham, we've needed a new dentist, haven't we, Earl?" Madeleine leaned over to her right and called out to an older man in the storage room.

"Eh?" he yelled back, boxes toppling over. Hermione giggled as the thin old man started jumping around and cursing at the fallen objects.

Madeleine sighed and shouted. "I _said_, since Karl moved, we need a new dentist!" The older woman looked at the eleven year-old wearily. "This always happens. I think he turns his hearing-aid off whenever I'm around." Hermione giggled again and gathered her books. She still had about an hour before dinner, so she sat down at an empty table to read.

Hermione looked at the titles in amazement. They had moving pictures on them, too! Only on these books, she saw crystal orbs, clouds, and tendrils of smoke winding around instead of people.

Some of the titles of the books were**_ The Half-wits Guide to Predicting the Future: For the Average Half-wit!_**, **_The Hidden Secrets of the Secret Art of Divination_**, **_Divination: Unfogging the Past, Present, and Future,_** **_The Beginner's Guide to Palm-readings_**, and **_Jareth's Book of Crystal Balls_**. Hermione flipped through the pages and started laughing at the complete absurdity of the subject matter. Palm-reading? Tea-leaves? Crystal balls? How could you tell the future with those?

"What're you laughing at?" the mousey-blonde girl walked over to Hermione's spot at the table.

"Oh, just these books. They're simply hilarious!" Hermione replied, still giggling.

"Oooh, can I see? Oh, I'm so silly! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Meg, Meg Giry. You must be new here, huh?" Meg asked. Hermione handed Meg one of the books and waited for the other girl to start laughing like she did.

Meg's eyebrows furrowed. "How can a yearbook be so funny?" she asked, looking at Hermione strangely. The bushy-haired eleven year-old's brows snapped together and she snatched the book from the other girl.

"Can't you read what it says, Meg? It's all about crystal balls and palm-reading!" Hermione cried desperately.

Meg looked at the new girl and said, "Err…no. it's just yearbook pictures from like the 1940s…are you alright, Herm?" Meg already given Hermione a new nickname. Meg liked the girl, though, even if she wasn't a bit right in the head.

"Oh…well…okay then…but I could've sworn…" Hermione shook her head and closed the book with a decisive snap.

"So…have you heard about the Snape mansion? It's supposed to be haunted, you know," Meg said, leaning in so other people around them wouldn't be able to hear, even though the two girls were the only people in the library except for Madeleine and Earl.

"Of course, someone _does_ live there, and he's supposed to be a right old git. But he's not here most of the year, so sometimes, we've tried getting in. But we never have…only got to the front door…" Meg trailed off sadly. Then her face brightened. "Hey! You wanna do that today? Go to Snape Manor? The guy's supposed to have a lot of them by the same name around England, and I don't think he uses this one all that much…he's only here during the summer, and even then, it's not all that often…You know, we should do that! All of my friends are on vacation for the whole entire summer, and I don't have anyone to go on adventures with…plus, it's only two doors down from my house! So, ya wanna come?" Meg said almost all in one breath.

Hermione looked around. "Wouldn't we get into trouble if we got caught?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Meg gave her newest friend an almost feral grin. "That's what makes it so much fun, 'Mione," she said, "But if you _do_ get caught—mind you, it's only been a couple times that I've _ever_ been caught---it's still jolly."

The bushy-haired eleven year-old stood up and straightened her knee-length khaki jumper. It was like the outfit she had worn the night before, only with a different color dress. "I don't know about this…if we get caught, just remember, you're the one to blame, not me…" Hermione said uneasily, her eyes darting around the room to make sure no one was listening.

Meg squealed and grabbed Hermione's hand and the two ran out of the library together, the stack of strange books left behind, forgotten for the moment.

The man with the hearing-aid, Earl, came out of the storage room and saw the books on the table.

"Now why would someone want to read a load of that codswallop? Divination's a fraudy subject!" And with that, Earl placed the books back on their respective shelves.

**XXXXXXXX**

Hermione and Meg ran all the way back to the lane where the two girls' houses were. Rupert and Wendy were out on the front lawn when the girls came into view.

"Hey 'Mione!" Rupert called after his daughter, but the two girls just ran past him. "Or…maybe not…" he sighed, then chuckled and went back to unloading the suitcases from the dark green station wagon. His daughter already made a new friend! He knew it was a great idea to move to Amble.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Meg let go of Hermione's hand suddenly and brought her finger to her mouth to tell Hermione to be quiet. The blonde Giry girl crept up to a rod iron gate and opened it as silently as she could. "Come on!" she whispered, gesturing for the new girl to follow her.

Hermione kept on the lookout for the mysterious owner of the house as they walked across the gravel drive leading to Snape Manor. She knew the name sounded familiar, but where was it from? It had a huge front lawn overgrown with weeds and brambles and strange-looking plants that Hermione had never seen before. She stopped to look at them, but Meg pulled her along.

"I've gotten this far before, 'Mione, it's nothing big---I just wanna see what it looks like inside now!" Meg whispered. Hermione looked up at the mansion and a thrill of fear and anticipation coursed through her as Meg pulled a hairpin from a pocket of her denim shorts and started picking the lock of the front door. It swung open with a long _creeeeak_, and the two girls stepped inside the manor.

Meg and Hermione were not two steps inside the mansion before the door closed with an ominous _thud_! Hermione whimpered and Meg jumped and grasped her new friend's hand tightly as they walked through the entryway. It was very dark all inside the house, and they came to a grand staircase. The girls could see an elaborate crystal chandelier rise high above their heads with numerous candles fixed upon it. The whole interior of the house was well-furnished. Dark greens and purples and silver were the only colors to be found so far in the house.

Meg was almost jumping up and down in triumph. "We did it! We finally got in! I can't believe the hair pin actually worked this time!" Hermione looked nervously around. It still looked like someone was living there…

Then the candles on the chandelier burst into flame all at once, illuminating the grand foyer, and a dark shadow at the top of the staircase.

Meg shrieked and held onto Hermione's shoulder with one hand, and gripping the other girl's hand tightly with her other hand. "Oh nooo…" Meg moaned.

Hermione gulped and squeezed Meg's hand reassuringly, but inside, the girl was terrified.

"SO! YOU THOUGHT BREAKING INTO AN OCCUPIED HOUSE WOULD BE FUN, HMM!" a deep and terrible voice boomed from all around the room. Wait…Hermione knew that voice…

The shadow at the top of the staircase descended each step slowly, ominously. Meg held onto Hermione even tighter and started whimpering, "Oh no, he's gonna kill us! We gotta run, Herm, now! Run! Let's go!" Meg took off, and Hermione looked around, bewildered, before racing after her friend. She could hear the man following her and she hoped that she could get out of Snape Manor before she got caught.

A hand gripped her shoulder and Hermione screamed. Meg was already out the door and racing down the gravel path when she heard her friend cry out. Her eyes widened, and she stopped, but then continued fleeing back to the library where it was safe.

Back at the manor, Hermione felt herself being turned around, and she looked up into Severus Snape's pale and furious face with wide eyes.

"Oh! It's just you!" she cried, relief beyond anything imaginable flooding through her body.

Snape glared at her. "What are you doing in my house, you little idiot? I thought I had escaped you for good," he spat.

Hermione glared furiously at him. "I am _not_ an idiot! Stop calling me that!"

"I'll stop when you prove that you're not one. Which won't be anytime in the near future, I'm afraid," the older man said nastily.

The eleven year-old was appalled at the man's behavior. "_You're _the one acting like the idiot! You're arguing with me like a child would!"

Severus was itching to take points from Gryffindor at the moment…

"Meg was the one who brought me here, how was I supposed to know that you lived here?" Hermione said indignantly.

Snape glared at her again. "I would _assume_ that you would know that breaking and entering is _not_ a good thing? Especially when you are breaking into _my_ house? No, I don't think you would. That would explain why you are in here, you stupid girl. Maybe I'll have to report to your parents about this. I'm sure they would be quite surprised to hear that their daughter is a _criminal_."

The girl's mouth dropped. "Fine then! If there's anything I can do to make it up to you then I'll do it! Just please don't tell my parents about this! I've never done anything like this before!"

Severus relished in the girl's discomfort. He looked thoughtful for a moment then shook his head. "No, I don't think that there is anything you can do to convince me not to tell your parents that you've been a naughty little delinquent," said the man.

Hermione looked close to tears. "_Please_, Mr. Snape! I'll…" she thought hard and furiously for a moment. "I'll clean up your front yard! It's dreadfully messy out there! Will you not go to my parents if I fix it up?" she implored desperately.

Severus looked genuinely thoughtful for a long moment. He sighed. "I guess that could convince me not to tell you parents about this…"

The eleven year-old jumped up and down ecstatically and threw her arms around the man before she realized what she was doing. She pulled away like lightning and mumbled a quick 'sorry'. She looked back up at the tall, thin Potions Master and grinned happily.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Snape!" she cried. Severus rolled his eyes and pointed to the front door of his house.

"Out, and don't let me catch you in here without my permission ever again, clear? And be here tomorrow morning at ten o'clock on the dot—no earlier, no later than," he demanded.

Hermione nodded her head slowly, and then she realized something.

"Umm…Mr. Snape, we're next door neighbors…and I was wondering, you know, sometime…well, my parents always invite our neighbors over, but it won't be for a while yet, and we have to get all our things settled in, but when we do…would you like to have dinner with us?" She looked at him hopefully.

Severus fixed the girl with a long stare, and then he again pointed towards the front door.

"OUT!"

**XXXXXXXX**

**There! I liked writing this chapter! The story's moving along, eh? I had to research about Amble---it's a real place in the county of Northumberland, you know! Of course, I think you WOULD know, if you lived in England, but I don't, so :)**

**Ooo…and fifty points to the house of your choice if you can pick out either the "Little Mermaid" quote, or a little Labyrinth snippet! I couldn't help but add a little PotO thing…but you don't get any points if you find it, because it's so obvious! Muwahaha! **

**If you can find both, then it's 100 points! **

**NOW! On with my response to your absolutely marvelous reviews!**

**_Zoltaire the Inscrutable:_ YAY! First reviewer for this chappy! Thus, it is dedicated to YOU! Now don't you feel special! ;) Thanks so much for your wonderful review! **

**_Countess Vladislaus Dragula: _YAY! My second reviewer for this chappy! I'm glad that I made you laugh last chapter! I didn't really try for funny book titles this chapter, but maybe some of them are…oh well. If they are, then they are, if they aren't funny, then they aren't funny! I LOVE THE GUY WHO PLAYS DRACULA IN VAN HELSING:swoon: **

**_Natsuyori:_ LOL! Thanks for reviewing! My story's 'grand'! Wheee! **

**_PrincessKalye:_ Umm…does this chapter explain anything to you? Thanks for reviewing!**

**_Prin69:_ Lol, loved your reviews. Short and to the point! Thanks for reviewing!**

**_BobMcBobBob1:_ AIEEEE! 'RISSA! YAY! See, NOW you know why Snape was on a Muggle airplane! And yes, Erik is an HP fan, aren't you, Erik? Oh yeah, it'll be interesting alright! Very long, too! I LOVE LONG SS/HG FICS!**

**_PenAgainstSword:_ OMG! I LOVE YOUR NAME! And no, I haven't read "Inkheart" yet! Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad that I rock ur sox!**

**_ChristineErik:_ Well…to put it plainly, I think ch 13 so far stinks. That's why I'm not posting it yet. I NEED INSPIRATION! My muse ditched me on that story…**

**_BrittanyMalfoy: _Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it so far!**

**_Storkee13:_ Why thank you! I intended it to be original… :)**

**_Lump-on-a-log:_ OMG, I LOVE YOUR NAME, TOO! I laughed when I read it! It's hilarious! Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you like my 'Mione!**

**Now, here's Erik!**

**Erik: _NO ONE LIKES A DEBTOR SO IT'S BETTER IF MY ORDERS ARE OBEYED! NOW REVIEW! Pwease?_**

**You hear him! Please review and tell me whatcha think!**

**-Alianne**


	4. Chapter 4: How to Deal with Ravenous

**A/N: I love each and every one of you guys who's reviewed! Three chapters, 32 reviews! That's…:counts on fingers: TEN AND A HALF REVIEWS PER CHAPTER! You people are AWESOME!**

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**Chapter Four: Dealing With Ravenous Man-eating Vine Plants**

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Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as the annoying girl ran off, feeling a headache coming on. _How was he ever going to survive a summer like _this?

Then he chuckled darkly—it gave him such great pleasure to see the little blonde twit run off with her tail between her legs like he had longed to see so many times before, scared out of her wits. But then again, who wouldn't be if they had suddenly seen someone, especially _him,_ appearing out of thin air?

That blasted little Gryffindor chit, that's who--that Granger girl was going to have a nice time battling the weedy potions plants in his front…and back yards. Oh, she was going to get it then…She wasn't afraid of him…

_Yet._

An evil smirk appeared on his thin lips and the Potions professor swept to his supply closet in his basement lab and gathered up an armful of the magical equivalent of _Miracle-Grow_.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Three minutes before ten the next morning Hermione found herself waiting at the gate to Snape Manor dressed in jeans and a lightweight red T-shirt, half nervous, half excited at the prospect of observing the strange plants she had seen the day before. She peered through the gaps in the ornate bars and her jaw dropped—Mr. Snape's front yard couldn't even be called a 'yard' any longer! The odd plants' roots now drooped all over the path, vines hung from the strange and gnarled trees, and enormous flowers blossomed in the tall, spiky grass, creating a jungle so thick that she could barely see the magnificent building.

_He wants me to tidy all this up? Mr. Snape was mad if he thought that I would do this all by myself!_ The eleven year old thought to herself as the gate creaked open. She picked her way along what she thought was the path through the vast expanse of plants, but only saw more of the twisting vines, and she didn't notice them wrapping themselves loosely around her ankles. She took a few turns left, then a couple to the right, and found herself surrounded by the tall, flowering grass that rose high above her head, no sight of Snape Manor anywhere in that immeasurable stretch of exotic plant life.

She blew a lock of hair out of her eyes noisily and nibbled her lip before taking another way through the plants.

A few seconds later, Hermione checked her wristwatch and let out a squeak of surprise—she was more than twelve minutes late already! She stomped her feet in frustration, then felt something tugging her socks. She looked down and cried out wordlessly when she saw the poisonous green vines curling around her ankles tightly. The girl stared at them in horror for one extensive moment, then came to her senses and howled frantically.

"MR. SNAPE! MR. SNAPE!" Hermione screamed, all the while shaking her legs to try and free herself from the grip of the rubbery tentacles that had coiled around her now non-existent tennis shoes, and growing steadily higher up to her knees.

Silence met her plea for salvation, and the eleven year-old girl looked around wildly, searching for something, _anything_ that would help her get out of her dire predicament.

There!

A storage shed covered with gigantic colorful flowers was not twenty yards away from Hermione, and she almost missed it if it weren't for the wide-open door showing shelves holding a garden hoe and shovel. She cried out in relief and dragged herself towards it, grunting with the effort, and all too aware that the vines were now rising past her thighs and towards her stomach.

She soon found out that the vines weren't just regular plain old vines, oh no—two-inch long thorns protruded from the persistent tentacles, and scratched and scraped the girl's stomach as they climbed even higher up her body. But she was almost to the shed, now! Only a few more steps…Hermione cried out in triumph when her hand grasped the garden hoe, but it soon became one of despair when she tried to pry the vines off, to no avail. The garden tool wasn't strong enough to get the dark, poisonous green tentacles to let go.

"MR. SNAPE! HELP!" She shouted out again, all the while searching the shed for something sharper…she needed a knife, not a shovel! Hermione winced as the thorns dug into her arms and slithered around her wrists. _I need something sharp!_ Her mind screamed over and over again. She closed her eyes tightly, wishing for the vines to just go away, then felt something heavy fall into one of her outstretched hands that had been grasping for anything off the shelves that would help her. The girl opened her eyes and sobbed in relief when she saw a hefty Swiss Army knife that looked like an exact replica of her father's in the palm of her hand. She grabbed the knife and slashed through the vines that bound her wrists, then the ones wrapped around her legs and stomach.

The slippery vines fell to the ground, lifeless. Hermione whooped with joy and pocketed the knife in her jeans, not thinking about how it appeared out of thin air, before taking off down a different path _very_ cautiously. She saw gnarled trees with strange leaves in all sorts of different shapes that the girl had never seen before on a regular tree, and more of the thorny vines hanging off of branches. She emerged in front of the door she and Meg had gone through the day before and met the figure of a very impatient, black-robed Severus Snape.

He was scowling, but that was nothing new to the girl. Neither were the nasty remarks that she just knew would come anytime now…

"There you are, you stupid girl! I thought I told you to be here at ten o'clock _sharp_. It is now…ten twenty-seven. You are twenty seven minutes and thirteen seconds late, you little idiot! Now, what kept you?" the man snarled.

Hermione swayed on her feet at his nastiness. "I'll have you know that you happen to have very dangerous plants in your front yard that almost _killed_ me! I _refuse_ to clean this up!" she cried, trying to wipe the smudges of dirt off her face.

Severus eyed the girl's appearance and sneered. "I should have known that you wouldn't be able to do it. You're just a stupid Gryffindor with no brains whatsoever and an ego big enough for the whole of my mansion. Don't even bother—I shall be informing your parents of yesterday's events," he said nastily.

The eleven year-old's face paled in horror, then reddened with righteous anger. "How dare you! I'll show you that I can do this! And you still haven't told me what a Gryffindor is, you mean old man!" Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with both scratched-up and bleeding hands when she heard herself insult an adult, even if she _was_ speaking the truth.

She was expecting him to fly at her in rage, or order her out of his property, not laugh outright! _He must be touched in the head!_ The girl thought uneasily.

The Head of Slytherin actually threw his head back and let out a deep-throated laugh that made Hermione even more nervous. He stopped and eyed the girl surreptitiously.

"Here," he barked, and a basket appeared out of thin air into his hand. Snape thrust the basket at her. Hermione took it, still wondering what she was supposed to do with it. The man rolled his eyes.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Get to work!" Hermione stared at him disbelievingly, and he arched an eyebrow. "You still have the _back_ yard to do after this, girl. I don't want you here any longer than you have to be."

The girl's jaw dropped when looked inside the basket and saw only a few spoons, forks, and a pick-axe. "You think that I'm actually going to weed your _entire_ front _and_ back yards with silverware and a pick-axe? Are you mad?" she asked dubiously.

The older man smirked viciously, and Hermione gulped. "Why, yes, I believe you will be doing exactly that," he said, loving every moment of the girl's horrified stare.

His smirk vanished when a look of determination settled upon Hermione's face. "Fine, I'll show you that Gryffindors have brains…" she muttered loudly, glaring at the man. Then she turned around and started attacking the ground with a spoon, digging up the weeds one by one, making extra sure that none of the thorny vines came anywhere close to her.

Snape glared and swept back into the mansion, slamming the door behind him, and leaving the girl alone to battle the potions plants.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Hermione had a difficult time with the weeds that inhabited Severus Snape's front lawn--she didn't feel like she was getting anywhere! The plants seemed to multiply as she dug them up, and in no time, she was covered from head to toe in soil, frustrated and very unhappy with Meg who had left her behind the day before. Her shirt was also ripped in places, and the eleven year-old couldn't even begin to think about what her mother would say about that. She cried out in aggravation when another plant popped up from the dirt in front of her very eyes. "This is _it_! I've had it! He must have a book about these, I'm sure of it!"

Hermione stood up and rubbed her sore back. She looked around and saw that she had done more than she had thought---there was now a sizeable clearing around where she stood. But it still wasn't enough—she didn't even know what some of those plants were! She looked at her wristwatch and yelped---it was almost time for dinner. She had been working in Mr. Snape's 'garden' for over seven hours! Hermione raised her head to the sky and saw that the sun was already setting.

She brushed her hands off on her now filthy jeans and walked back up to the large front door of Snape Manor. She stared at the dark pewter snake-head knocker warily. The girl was afraid that it would move if she got any closer to it…but she was still curious…

Hermione tentatively reached for the snake-headed door knocker. It opened one metal eye lazily, then reared and sank its fangs into her wrist, eliciting a surprised gasp from the girl. It didn't hurt…but when she tried to step away, she found that she was rooted to the spot by some unknown force. The snake retracted itself from the girl's hand and swayed its head from side to side, observing the eleven year-old with interest like a _real_ animal.

"But you're only a door knocker!" Hermione said in confusion, trying to make herself believe exactly that.

The pewter serpent's head shook sadly from side to side again, then stilled after the girl's proclamation. Hermione prodded it with her index finger, but the snake head did not move again.

"How odd…" she murmured, and then shook her head herself.

Before she could knock again, the door was thrown open, and Severus Snape's head appeared. "What is it, girl? Done already? I think not, you still have the back to do, don't you remember?" he sneered.

Hermione stared at him. "Um, yes, I know I still have to do your backyard. But I was wondering if you had any books on these plants---I don't think I'm weeding them correctly, because they keep popping up every time I think I've got one out! Surely you have a book on the proper way of taking care of them? It would sure help quite a bit," she said in a rush.

The man's upper lip curled in distaste. "Of course I have books on these, but I'm not going to let you use them, oh no. This is your punishment, or are you not able to remember with that puny little brain you have?"

Deep down, Hermione had known that he wouldn't let her use any books, but she just wanted to make sure…

"Fine then, I'll be back tomorrow to finish this up," she said primly, straightening her ripped t-shirt. "Good evening, Mr. Snape." And with that, she walked back through the mass of plant life and miraculously didn't get herself lost in the maze again. She didn't notice the owl that had been perched on one of the gnarled tree's branches take off behind her.

Severus Snape glared and sneered as the girl swept out of the gate like she owned the place. Another evil smirk crossed his face and he hurried back to his supply closet to get more bottles of the magical plant grower.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Hermione was seething as she opened the front door of her new house. Even though Mr. Snape was an adult, it gave him no right to treat her like this!

She passed by her parents on the stairs and flopped down on her bed, exhausted, and lay there for many long minutes. The girl sat up as one thought ran through her mind—

_Now she was going to have to do even more tomorrow!_

Hermione groaned and went to the hallway bathroom to clean up before dinner.

Rupert and Wendy Granger were bustling around with all the boxes downstairs in the kitchen, taking the things that they needed for the night's meal and leaving everything else in the boxes until the next morning. The moving van had arrived with all their furniture, and Hermione's parents were too busy to notice that their daughter had been gone the whole entire day.

"So, Hermione, what have you been up to today?" Rupert asked his daughter warmly over the mashed potatoes.

The eleven year-old was glad that she had changed her clothes and washed her face before coming down to dinner. "Oh, not a lot, Daddy," she replied, playing idly with her fork.

Wendy Granger looked at her daughter for a moment. "Your father says that he saw you yesterday with a girl from town, didn't you, Rupert?" she asked her husband.

"That's right, dear," he said, "Running past our house like that one boy from our office!" Everyone laughed at that memory---it had been the little boy's first dentist appointment ever, and he unfortunately had gotten a cavity-- he had toppled over all the trays and most of the equipment in his haste to get away from the drill.

"That was Meg and me, mum. Her grandmother owns the library in town," Hermione informed her mother. Wendy smiled and nodded.

"Now, is she a nice girl?" she asked.

"Yes. Very nice, mother," Hermione muttered, still upset that Meg had left her to face Mr. Snape alone the day before.

"That's great!" Rupert exclaimed. "I expect you two will be the best of friends by the end of the week, eh?"

Hermione sighed and was about to take another bite of her mashed potatoes when a large tawny owl flew in from the open kitchen window carrying something in its talons. Wendy screamed and Rupert jumped up with a yell. Hermione stared at the bird as it settled on the table in front of her.

The owl fixed the girl with its large golden eyes and nudged with its beak the package that it had been carrying when it had flown into the house.

The eleven year-old looked curiously from the owl to the crème-envelope with the bottle-green script. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was addressed to her.

_Ms. H. Granger_

_Third Seat to the Right at the Kitchen Table_

_24 Amble Lane_

_Amble_

_Northumberland_

Wendy and Rupert stared at the owl, then at their daughter in confusion. Rupert came to his senses first. "Open it and see what it says, 'Mione," he said, holding his wife tightly to him. Wendy nodded, staring at the letter.

Hermione looked from one parent to the other and nodded before slowly ripping open the envelope. Two pieces of parchment fell out, and the girl's mouth fell open as she read the first slip that was written in the same emerald-green script that was on the envelope.

_**Dear Miss Granger,**_

**_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_----**

Hermione stopped reading. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" she asked, bewildered. Rupert and Wendy shook their heads, and Wendy said, "Go on, dear. What else does it say?"

The girl blinked and began reading again.

**---_Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._**

**_Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July_**

**_31st. _**

**_Yours sincerely,_**

**_Minerva McGonagall_**

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

"Owl?" Wendy asked, staring at the bird on the kitchen table that was preening itself boredly. Rupert spoke up. "'Mia…what does the other paper say?"

Hermione picked up the second slip of parchment and began reading it aloud.

_List of Items:_

_First year students will require:_

_Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_One pair of protective gloves (Dragon hide_---

"Dragon hide?" Wendy asked incredulously. "What kind of school is this?"

Hermione read back over the other letter quickly. "One for Witchcraft and Wizardry, I suppose," she said, and started reading once more.

_One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags._

_Course Books: _

_All students should have a copy of each of the following: _

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions----_

"Wait," Hermione said, "Mr. Snape had a book about potions!"

Hermione's parents looked at their daughter inquisitively. "Did he? Then he must know about all this!" Rupert cried, gesturing to the letters and the owl, which was now staring at the three humans with interest.

Silence reigned over the table as everyone in the room stared at each other. Then they all heard a loud _crack!_ Come from the front yard. Everyone looked at each other before a knock sounded at the front door. Wendy cautiously stepped towards it and paused.

Another knock came from the other side of the door. Wendy took a deep breath and opened the door quickly, and she gasped.

On the front porch was an oddly dressed woman that looked twenty years older than Wendy's forty, wearing smart, rectangular spectacles, her long black hair tied into a severe bun underneath her top hat. Wendy blinked. "Who are you?" she asked.

The strangely dressed woman straightened her shoulders and fixed Hermione's mother with a stern eye. "I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she replied, her voice prim and full of a Scottish burr. "Now, a Miss Hermione Granger is a resident here, am I correct?"

Wendy Granger swallowed. "Yes, my daughter lives here. Did you say 'Hogwarts'? We just got a letter and---"

Hermione interrupted. "Mum, she's the one who sent the letter!" the girl cried, rushing up to the two women from the table with the pieces of parchment in her hands. Rupert stood by the owl, and they were both staring at the three, one in confusion, the other in boredom.

Minerva nodded at Hermione. "Indeed, Miss Granger. It is I who sent you that letter. I have come to inform you of your being a witch," she said to the girl.

Hermione looked puzzled for a moment. "You mean I'm can do magic?"

The older woman patiently nodded again.

The girl's face lit up with understanding. "So _that's_ what Mr. Snape did a few days ago! He called everyone around us 'Muggles', and then he took out a long wooden stick and said something, and then the wall opened up! And then he turned me into a frog that night at the hotel…and Rosmerta! She did magic, too! She was packing all our clothes!"

The woman with the stern face looked surprised when Hermione said 'Snape' and 'Rosmerta'. Surely she couldn't be talking about Severus? Or Rosmerta?

Wendy and Rupert started talking at once. "So our daughter is a witch? And what's this about Mr. Snape turning you into a frog?" they asked, bewildered.

Minerva sighed. "Here, you might want to sit down," she said, pulling out a long, light brown stick from her sleeve. She waved it at the table and chairs, which immediately became free of mashed potatoes, and again at a tea kettle that had suddenly appeared out of thin air. Mr. and Mrs. Granger gasped as four tea cups materialized onto the table, and the tea pot began whistling. The older woman flicked her wrist and the tea kettle began pouring hot, steaming tea into each of the four cups. The owl flew up onto Hermione's shoulder and perched there, preening the girl's bushy brown hair as Minerva began to speak.

"There is a world far different from yours, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. In fact, a whole other race of people---well, there are two kinds of humans in this world: Muggles, and wizards," she began, but Hermione interrupted.

"That's what Rosie and Severus said---they called the people around us Muggles! Oops, I mean, Mr. Snape," the girl corrected herself. "Oh, I'm so very sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt, please, go on, Miss McGonagall!" she said, grinning sheepishly.

Minerva smiled. "It's quite alright, Miss Granger. Now, as I said before, there are Muggles--people who cannot do magic, and magical folk, who can. Muggles cannot see any magical objects, not can they hear them. Your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, can. Your family obviously has magical blood in it, whether or not you two did not get the amount needed so _you_ would become wizards."

Wendy nodded, trying to understand the woman's words. "You mean, Hermione can do magic, and see magical things, but we can't?" she asked.

Minerva shook her head. "No, you both can see Wizarding things---all three of you can. That little drop of magic in your blood allows you to. Your daughter just has more of it, you see?"

Rupert nodded this time, finally starting to understand. "My great-grandmother Phyllis was very strange…always did odd stuff, you know? Always wore strange clothing--of course, it could have just been her way of doing things…ah, and she had an owl, as well," he said.

The old woman nodded at Hermione's parents. "Your great-grandmother could very well have been a witch, Mr. Granger."

Wendy smiled, "Minerva, if I may call you that?"

The old woman's lips turned up into a small smile. "Yes, you may, Mrs. Granger," she said.

"Oh, no, please call me Wendy--- and this is Rupert, my husband," Wendy replied warmly, gesturing to the man sitting beside her.

"Wendy," Minerva said, nodding. "I came here not only to inform you that your daughter is a witch, but to know if she will be coming to Hogwarts this year," she said. "It is vital that I know now, instead of on July 31st. If she is, we will go to Diagon Alley on Saturday to get her supplies."

Hermione bit her lip thoughtfully. "Where is this Hogwarts place, anyway?" the girl asked.

Minerva looked at the eleven year-old from above her glasses. "I am afraid I cannot tell you that, Miss Granger," she informed the girl.

"Oh," Hermione said. "Well…what is it like, then?" she asked.

The old woman smiled. "It is the greatest school of magic in Britain, Miss Granger. From September first to late June is the school year. There are Four Houses…wait, I think I have something that will explain a bit better than I ever could…" Minerva flicked her wand and a thick book appeared on the table by Hermione.

"**_Hogwarts, A History_**?" the girl questioned, staring at the book with interest.

"Yes, Miss Granger. In that book you will find everything you would ever want to know about Hogwarts School. Make good use of it, and I will come back again on Saturday if your parents decide to send you to Hogwarts this year. Just send me a letter with Bastian," Minerva gestured to the owl perched on Hermione's shoulder, "tomorrow, and we will go to Diagon Alley and get your books. He will be here in the morning awaiting your reply. Oh, and you must tell no one about our kind, or that your daughter is a witch---it is better if our worlds do not mix."

The woman stood up and nodded at the Grangers and offered her arm out to Bastian, who flew over to it, before turning away and striding out of the house. Hermione ran outside and saw Ms. McGonagall disappear with another loud _crack_!

The girl walked back inside and saw her parents staring at her. Hermione's eyes flitted all over the room, not meeting her parent's penetrating stares.

Rupert cleared his throat and rushed over to his daughter, embracing her fiercely and laughing. "Why, our daughter's a witch, Wendy! What do you think about that, eh?"

Wendy stared at the letters before smiling. "We're so proud of you, Hermione!" she cried before hugging her daughter and husband. Hermione was bewildered.

"Is this just because you want me out of the house?" she asked suspiciously, scowling.

Rupert and Wendy laughed. "Oh no, 'Mia! This is just something else you can excel at!" Rupert laughed again.

Hermione stared at her parents and began giggling. "I guess you're right!"

Wendy peered over her daughter's shoulder at the book Ms. McGonagall had given Hermione. "'Mia, dear, what does that book say? Why don't we read it all together on the sofa, hmm? I must confess, I'm quite intrigued with the prospect of a whole other world living alongside ours, aren't you, Rupert?" she said, steering her child over to the couch in the living room.

The Grangers stayed up late reading all about Hogwarts. Hours later, Hermione looked up from the book and saw that her parents were huddled together, asleep. She smiled and crept upstairs to her bed and stayed awake until morning reading **_Hogwarts, A History_**, waiting for Bastian to arrive.

Rupert and Wendy woke up to a pecking sound at the living room window. Hermione rushed down the stairs and threw open the window, and Bastian flew in and perched on her shoulder. The eleven year-old giggled as he lightly nibbled on her ear.

Wendy looked at the owl in wonder. "So it really _did_ happen…" she whispered. Rupert hugged his wife around the shoulders. "Sure did, pumpkin. We've got a witch in the family! Now, let's write that letter, eh?" he asked, rummaging around in one of the kitchen drawers for a pen and paper.

He scribbled down the reply and walked back over to the owl and stopped and scratched his head in confusion. "Uhhh…now how do I attach it?" he asked. Bastian seemed to roll his eyes at the man, and the bird stuck out a leg boredly.

Rupert stared at the bird's talons for a moment, and then caught on. "Oh!" He laughed, and set the envelope in the owl's claws, which immediately clasped the letter tightly. Bastian soared around the room once, twice, and then flew out the living room window and out of sight.

The Grangers stared after the speck on the horizon and then Wendy spoke up.

"Now how about some breakfast?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Again, Hermione found herself at the gate to Snape Manor, this time fifteen minutes to ten. She contented her parents with a vague excuse of going into town for the day—she couldn't believe her parents actually bought it, but they were too busy setting up the house to be too concerned about their daughter's whereabouts. Just as long as she was safe, they were fine. The girl was armed with her new pocket knife, and now that she knew she was a witch, she understood exactly how it had appeared in her hand the day before.

The eleven year-old picked her oldest and dirtiest outfit that her parents wouldn't mind getting all torn up if the plants decided to get rough again today. A plain white t-shirt and her oldest jeans that her mother had been insisting that she get rid of was what the girl wore. Three oversized bottles of Weed-B-Gone lay inside a large basket that Hermione had found in one of the boxes at home, along with some spades, hand shovels, and most especially, thick gardening gloves. Armed and ready to face Snape's front yard, she opened the gate and was immediately pushed back by the huge overgrown plants. Hermione glared and determinedly forced her way through the brambles and appeared at the front door of Snape Manor in a matter of minutes.

The man looked a bit surprised, but quickly covered it up with a nasty sneer. "So, you're not late this time, girl. Good. I see you are prepared---now get to work," he ordered, pointing at the exotic jungle of plants and trees.

"I got my letter, Mr. Snape!" she said happily. "And I know what a Gryffindor is now, too!"

Severus looked aggrieved at this bit of information. "I'm delighted," he drawled sarcastically, not sounding happy about it at all. "Work, now!" he barked.

Hermione nodded smartly. "Yes sir," she said, and turned away from him and began to dig up the roots of the weeds one by one.

Snape glared and swept back into the house once more, slamming the door forcefully.

Not more than two minutes had passed when one of the thorny vines started to creep sneakily towards the girl's ankles. Hermione heard a rustling in the grass and her head snapped up. Her dark chocolate brown eyes darted around and found the tentacles slithering closer to her feet. She stood up abruptly and began following the length of the vine. She was going to stop it from its source, and then she wouldn't have to worry about getting killed anymore!

With that thought in mind, the girl came upon a large mass of the tentacles and gulped. She had never seen a plant like this before…one of the vines quickly encircled her ankles before she could do anything, and it pulled her towards the writhing mass of poisonous green brambles. Hermione drew the knife from her jean pocket and slashed at the large bright green bush as soon as she got close enough to it.

She was startled to hear it start to cry!

The bush was sobbing, and it lashed another vine at the girl. Hermione cut off the vine coming towards her, and the sobs grew louder. The eleven year-old stepped closer and touched the quivering bush, and its wails subsided as she began to stroke it.

She was amazed to see the Venomous Tentacula's thorns retract into the long vines, and the bush stilled. A bright grin lit up Hermione's face, and she began to stroke the plant again. It sighed and began to giggle. It was ticklish!

The girl's mouth dropped into a small 'o' of wonder. So this was how you dealt with ravenous man-eating vine plants!

**XXXXXXXX**

**Ah Hahaha! I lahved that! SHE FINALLY GOT HER LETTER!**

**Oh, and look for my updates about once every week or so, all right? I still have a bit of school left, so, yeah! Just a bit, though, almost done with 9th grade! YAY! I've been nice these past few days by updating as soon as I finish the chapters! I just love writing this, though! **

**Now, MY RESPONSES TO YOUR REVIEWS!**

**_Iejasu_**: **Oh wow! You know—I've never been on a flight from Rome to London, so I wouldn't really know! Thanks for telling me about that! **

**_Piper of Locksley:_ AIEEEE! A NEW REVIEWER! YAY! Haha, I figured that some people wouldn't be able to find the Little Mermaid thing---Dumbledore says it. "A token, really, a trifle!" ha, Ursula the Sea Witch says that! (I've got the Disney Mania CD that has "Poor Unfortunate Soul" on it, teehee) And the Labyrinth thingy was _Jareth's Crystal Balls_---I haven't seen the movie yet, but I sooo want to! And I saw on previews that Jareth used these crystal ball thingies, so…yeah…umm….THANKS FOR REVIEWING!**

**_Prin69:_ Lol! Ya, our Hermione's TOUGH! Thanks, and I can't wait to hear whatcha think of this chappy!**

**_Countess Vladislaus Dragula:_ - YAY! I'm sooo glad that you think my Sev is in character! I wanted to make him like a child that finally gets his revenge in this one, but then gets all….NOOO! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! So…err…yeah…I hope I got him down in this one, too! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!**

**_ChristineErik:_ Hahaha, I was wondering if I should put the PotO thingy in or not, and then I read your review for the second chapter (or was it the first? XD) And I was like, DEFINITELY PUTTING IT IN THE STORY! Thanks so much for reviewing!**

**_Zoltaire the Inscrutable:_ Ah yes, the most wonderful reviewer for this story! I'm glad that you think my Snapey's in character! LOL! I dunno if Snape was as snarky this time…looking forward to reading another review from ya! THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR REVIEWING!**

**_Brittany Malfoy:_ Oops…:blushes and grins sheepishly: Ya got me there! The reason I can't update WWTLF is because I can't get to the file that it's on! I swear! If I could, it AND chapter 14 would be up! Honestly, if I could, I most definitely would! Thanks for reviewing again!**

**_Fionartan: _OMG! YOU WERE THE ONLY READER WHO MENTIONED THAT! You caught me on the time-turner thing, but there will definitely be ABSITIVELY POSOLUTELY _NO_ PotO cross-over! I don't really like cross-overs all that much, anyway… And as for where I'm going with this fic, as I said in the summary, this story will follow Hermione Granger through all 7 years at Hogwarts, maybe even after, who knows? All _I_ know is that it's going to be a very long fic!**

**_Azulkan2:_ YAY! A NEW REVIEWER! YAY, YAY, YAY:ahem: sorry about that, I'm totally excited now! I NEVER thought that this story would get the response that it did! **

**Now, here's Erik!**

**Erik: _NO BODY LIKES NO STINKIN' TAX DUDE SO IT'LL BE COOL IF YOU OBEY ALL MY ORDERS, YO!_**

**Laura: Errr…Erik…you seriously didn't take your medicine this morning, did you…**

**Erik: _Uhhh…ok, FINE! _**

_**NO ONE LIKES A DEBTOR SO IT'S BETTER IF MY ORDERS ARE OBEYED! Happy now?**_

**Laura: Quite happy! You were scaring all the readers!**

**You heard Erik! Please review and maybe he'll actually LISTEN TO ME when I say for him to take his antidepressants!**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Lots of love,**

**-Alianne**


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